A Captive Situation
by Goldenrod
Summary: Nahdar's captured by space pirates.
1. Prisoners

Disclaimer: I don't own 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars', only the Twi'lek girl, Shona, Burko, and Kuris V (as far as I know).

Author's Note: Italics are Twi'lek translation.

* * *

He began to open his eyes, slowly but surely beginning to wake up. He blinked several times to clear his vision, still blurry from unconsciousness. Looking around, he realized he was in a small metallic room—and he wasn't alone. Next to him on the back wall was an orange colored Twi'lik girl, probably no more than seventeen years old. For a second, she looked at him with her downcast eyes, so full of sadness and completely devoid of hope, before she directed them back at the ground. What shocked him was she was chained by her neck to the wall. Fully alert now, Nahdar moved to get up and help her, only to be held back. Looking behind him, he saw that his hands were secured by shackles behind a pipe against which he was propped up in a sitting position. He pulled as hard as he could, but the chains held fast. He let out a sigh as he decided to let it go, for now, and returned his attention to the girl. He was about to speak when the doors hissed open and in walked a Weequay followed by two others. "Greetings, Jedi knight," he welcomed. "I am Shona Youl, captain of this crew."

"Where am I? How did I get here?" Nahdar asked while trying real hard to keep his tone neutral; judging from the tattoo of a burning claw on the captain's right shoulder, he had a pretty good suspicion as to what this Shona and his crew were.

"Don't you remember, Sir Jedi?" asked Shona as he knelt closer to the Mon Calamarian. "You crash landed here. When my men came to investigate, they found you unconscious and brought you here. Your wounds were superficial, so we treated them easily."

Nahdar thought back. He remembered flying in a Starfighter heading back to Coruscant after an assignment when his ship's sensor's alerted him to a small patch of a large energy signature on the planet he was passing, Kuris V. He found this rather odd because the inhabitants of Kuris V didn't have any kind of technology that would warrant a signature that size, and decided to take a closer look. However, he was caught by surprise and ambushed by laser fire that came from the planet's surface. The last thing he recalled was Kuris V's barren, rocky desert region surface rushing to meet him. Another thing that occurred to him was that if this Shona and his crew really did mean to 'rescue' him they wouldn't be keeping him here against his will. All of this formed only one conclusion. "You shot me down and have taken me prisoner," he accused.

Shona, thankfully, didn't even try to mock his intelligence by denying it and simply shrugged. "I assure you, Jedi, when our sensors informed us of your approach, it was not my intention to shoot you down, but unfortunately, one my shipmates got rather jittery and, before I could stop him, pulled the trigger. I had you brought here because I couldn't have you contacting your comrades and risk us being found."

"And, what do you intend to do with me now, pirate?" Nahdar inquired, not even bothering to hold back the contempt in his voice.

"That I haven't decided yet," Shona replied as he stood up. "There's, of course, no doubt that the Republic would be willing to pay a handsome price for your return, but then again the Separatists might also pay a decent amount of money for you as well."

For a moment, Nahdar let his anger rule him and he tugged some more on his shackles. He was not some product to be bartered with. But, with reluctance, he forced himself to calm down, remembering what he had been taught about the consequences of such emotions. While his men chuckled, Shona sneered as he exited the room.

When he couldn't feel their presence anymore, Nahdar reached out with the Force to try to use his lightsaber to free himself—only to find nothing to reach for. Looking down at his belt, he found his lightsaber was missing. He sighed as he leaned his head back; he should've known they would take his most important tool. After testing his restraints a little more, he realized he had no choice but to sit tight and hope an opportunity of some kind would present itself in the near future; he had to get out of here before Shona decided who he was going to bargain with. This, he knew, was going to be easier said than done, for patience was not one of his virtues. After stealing a glance at the Twi'lek girl, who continued to stare at the ground, Nahdar decided at the moment, the best thing he could do was familiarize himself with his shared cell. If he was lucky, he would discover a weakness he could exploit. And so, recalling his training from his youngling days at his Jedi Temple, he concentrated on his breathing and meditated.

* * *

About an hour and a half later, Nahdar's meditation was interrupted by the sound of the door opening. In walked one of Shona's pirates with two bowls. He set the bowls down, one near the girl and one near him. As the pirate turned his back on them, the girl eagerly reached for her bowl, but her chain stopped her short. Judging from the amused grin on the Weequay's face, Nahdar knew he set it there on purpose. Then, the pirate left.

Nahdar snorted, then looked back at the girl still struggling to reach her bowl of what appeared to be some kind of soup. After judging the distance between him and the bowl, he sat back a bit lower, extended his leg, and used his foot to gently push the bowl a little closer to her. For a minute, the girl looked surprised that he was helping her, but took the bowl, nodded a thank you, and sipped up the soup. As she ate, Nahdar noticed for the first time that she looked a little too thin to be of a healthy weight. As she emptied her bowl, he maneuvered his own towards her. When she finished, her surprise was nothing compared to earlier when she realized what he was doing. She didn't know what to make of it. "Go on and take it," Nahdar encouraged her. "You need it more than I do." This was quite true, for Jedi could use their manipulation over the Force to allow them to go days without food or sleep. The girl gingerly took hold of the bowl and sipped it up as well.

After she had finished, she seemed to relax and said in her native Twi'lek, "_Thank you_."

"_You're welcome_," Nahdar bowed.

For a while, they were left alone until a different pirate, one Nahdar recognized as one of those who accompanied Shona earlier, came to collect their bowls. The girl huddled as close to the back wall as she could in an instant. Nahdar noticed that she was trembling and could sense that she was terrified. When he found Nahdar's bowl empty, he seemed perplexed. Apparently, he wasn't expecting to find _two_ empty bowls. However, he just shrugged his shoulders and turned to leave—but not before Nahdar noticed that he eyed the girl in a way he didn't like. Once the pirate was gone, he looked back at the girl. She hadn't acted like this with the other pirates; why was she so afraid of this one? He thought about asking her why she was a prisoner, but decided it should wait until she'd calmed down a bit, and got as comfortable as he could. Somehow, he had the feeling that he was going to be here for a while.

* * *

Nahdar had been the space pirate's prisoner for four more hours and was beginning to wonder what was taking so long. Shona said he was going to contact either the Republic or the Separatists, depending on who he thought would give him the biggest pay off. Was it really taking him that long to decide? He was pulled out of his reverie at the sound of the door. That pirate, Nahdar learned his name was Burko, had returned, but not with food or even to retrieve it. In fact, he looked right at the girl in that same way that always gave Nahdar a bad feeling. "Hey, pretty girl, it's been a while," Burko said as he slowly approached her. The girl acted like she was trying to become a part of the wall. "Oh, come now, it's not so bad," the pirate tried to coax. "Besides, where you're going, you're going to have to get used to it."

Seeing the utter fear in the girl's eyes, hearing her beg him to leave her alone, and getting a sick-to-his-stomach feeling of what the pirate's intentions were, Nahdar decided he had to act. With lightning fast speed, he scissored his legs around Burko's and used a combination of pushing with his top leg and sweeping with the bottom one to bring the Weequay down. Burko got back up and snarled, "Big mistake, fish-face," before pouncing onto the Jedi. For a few minutes, Nahdar managed to keep Burko at bay by crossing his legs in front of him, but the pirate managed to get past his defenses and began beating on him with his bare knuckles. The young Twi'lek began to shout imploringly in her native language, begging the pirate to stop, for someone to help her fellow prisoner Jedi. The door hissed open, and Shona and a couple of his men, who no doubt were attracted by the girl's screams, rushed in. The two other pirates grabbed ahold of Burko and wrestled him away from a semi-conscious Nahdar, who was now covered in bruises, mostly on his face.

"What's going on here?" Shona demanded.

"It was the Jedi," Burko lied. "I was just coming to check on them and he lashed out at me. I was just defending myself."

Shona, however, looked to the girl and knelt down so he was at eye-level with her. He communicated a question to her in her native tongue. At first, she was a little nervous, considering Burko was in the room as well, but somehow she found her voice and answered, pointing to both Burko and Nahdar as she did. When she finished, Shona got up and gave his crewman a dangerous look—before he punched him to the ground. "I told you that girl's off-limits, Burko," he growled.

"I just wanted to have a little fun with her, is all," Burko weakly defended.

"She's for our client and our client only," Shona retorted, and whistled. Two HXZ-1 immobilizer droids walked in. "From now on no one, and I mean no one, but the droids and me are allowed in here," Shona commanded. The droids beeped an affirmative and returned to their posts outside the door, followed by the two extra pirates. Shona entered a sequence on the control unit on his wrist, then spoke to the girl. She nodded in response to what he said, and he and Burko prepared to leave as well. Just as they were in the doorway, the captain grabbed Burko by the shirt and warned in a low, dangerous voice, "If you have damaged that girl in any way and cost us some serious cash, I'll have you thrown into the reactor. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir," Burko replied, shaken. Before leaving, Burko gave the Calamarian Jedi a death glare and he disappeared into the hallway.

At that moment, a droid arrived with a cloth and bowl of bacta water, which would help Nahdar's wounds heal faster. Shona took the items, placed them next to Nahdar, and pressed a button on the control unit on his wrist. The young Twi'lik looked behind her, at her energy chain, then looked back at the captain, who nodded. The girl tentatively moved closer to Nahdar, who was beginning to come around, and knelt next to him. Shona had extended the length of her chain so she could tend to the Jedi. The pirate captain finally took his leave and left the two alone.

The girl, meanwhile, dipped the cloth in the bacta water, squeezed, and gently applied it on Nahdar's injuries. "Not that I don't appreciate it, but you don't need to go through the trouble," he told the girl. His makeshift nursemaid, however, just offered a small smile and continued her work. The Jedi winced involuntarily when she tended to his left eye, which had a developing dark ring around it in spite of how gentle she tried to be. As she continued to tend to him, Nahdar decided now was as good time as any to ask her something he'd been meaning to ask her. "_Why are you here_?" he inquired in Twi'lik. The girl looked at him, but only for a second before she resumed her nursing. Nahdar could sense her sadness and hopelessness, as if she didn't want to talk about it because it was too painful. "_I want to help you, but I need answers_," he tried again.

"_With all due respect, Sir Jedi, no one, not even you, can help me now_," she replied.

"_Try me_," Nahdar dared.

The girl paused for a long minute before she let out a defeated sigh. She then relayed her story to him, but it was not easy to hear. A few weeks ago, on her home planet of Ryloth, she was fetching some water for her family when the pirates grabbed her. She screamed and fought to get away, but they were too strong. A neighbor heard her cries and tried to help, but one of the pirates shot him down. Soon after, she found out she was going to become a slave to someone on a faraway planet. She was scheduled to be delivered to him in a few days.

After recounting her story, the girl broke down. Nahdar looked upon her with pity; this girl was stolen from her home and was about to be forced into a way of life that disgusted him, a life where she would never see her family again. Suddenly, the two were aware of voices in the hallway. The girl, trying to regain as much composure as she could, went back to tending to Nahdar while the Calamarian strained to hear what was going on.

"And, the Jedi?" he heard a voice ask.

"Shona got in touch with that ex-Jedi that works for the Separatists; Count Dooku, I think is his name," another voice replied. "Turns out he's willing to pay a handsome price for 'im. He'll be here to pick him up within the hour."

As laughter resounded in the hall, Nahdar felt a sensation he believed humans called their blood turning into ice. Count Dooku was coming to claim him? 'That settles it,' he thought to himself. He couldn't afford to wait any longer; he had to get himself and the girl out of there.

* * *

Author's Note 2: This is my first Star Wars fic and I'm still relatively new at this universe, so I apologize if I didn't get some things right (I tried doing my research) and ask for some slack in any reviews. On that note, I know Nahdar dies, but he's one of my favorites, so I'll leave it to you readers to decide whether this happens before that or if this is AU.


	2. Prison Break

Soon after, Shona walked into the cell with a droid, which reclaimed the bacta water and cloth. The pirate captain knelt down and visually examined Nahdar. "The girl's done a good job, I see," he commented. "You don't look the worse for wear, considering how brutal Burko can be."

"I've survived worse," Nahdar replied, the sarcasm evident in his voice.

"Really, Sir Jedi, what's with that tone? Can't we just get along?"

"Not on your life. I don't 'get along' with people who kidnap and sell other people."

"I'll take it you somehow found out about my arrangements with Count Dooku. It's nothing personal, Sir Jedi; it's just business is all, business."

"Actually, I wasn't really referring to me."

Nahdar cocked his head towards the girl, and Shona understood. "Like I said, nothing personal, just business," and the captain got up and left.

Once he was sure he was gone, Nahdar used all of his concentration to maneuver the key to his restraints, which he managed to slip off when Shona wasn't looking. 'These pirates must've put too much faith in these restraints,' he thought to himself. 'If a Jedi concentrates hard enough, they can still use Force abilities.' Hearing a click, he brought his hands in front of him; he was free. The girl gazed at him in wonder as he approached her and released her from her collar. Motioning her to be quiet, Nahdar peeked through the window in the door. The two droids were still standing guard by their cell. With the power of the Force, he smashed them into each other several times until he was sure they weren't getting up again. Then, he used the Force to open the door and quickly glanced both ways down the corridor. Assured that the coast was clear, he opened up one the droids' cranial casing and searched through its databanks. Once he got the information he needed, he extended his hand to the girl, silently urging her to come with him. She took his hand and the Calamarian Jedi took off down the hallway.

After a left turn, a right, and another left, they came to the room Nahdar was looking for. Once he located his lightsaber and secured it on his belt, he took hold of the girl's hand and they both ran. Now came the next step in the young Jedi's plan. Nahdar knew there was no way he could face all of the pirates by himself, especially when Dooku arrived. He had to get to the control room and try to call for reinforcements. Finally, they came to the intersection where the right turn would take them to the door for the control room. Nahdar could sense there were a couple of men inside and thought about barging in and taking them down, but his whole plan depended on letting the pirates believe he and the girl were still in their cell for as long as possible. Seeing a pile of crates across the intersecting hallway, he used the Force to telekinetically lift and throw one down the hall where it made a racket. As he had hoped, both pirates came to investigate. Nahdar moved the crate again through the hall at the end of the corridor, prompting the pirates to check it out, thus leaving their posts.

Seeing their chance, Nahdar signaled for the girl to follow him and they entered the control room. Nahdar immediately went to work on a computer, trying to contact his allies, while the girl nervously stayed near the door. "This is Nahdar Vebb, can anyone hear me?" he asked. Receiving no response, he tried again.

A second later, a clone trooper's helmet showed on the screen. "General Vebb, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, trooper. Listen, I don't have much time. I'm being held captive by pirates on Kuris V. Tell your superiors that I need back up and to hurry. Count Dooku's going to be arriving soon to pay them off to hand me over."

"Copy that, sir."

Just then, the girl tugged on his shoulder and whispered in a frightened tone as she pointed at the door. Nahdar could barely hear voices, voices that were getting louder.

* * *

"Well, that was weird," said one pirate as he and his partner entered the control room.

"I'll say. It's almost as if that crate got down that hall on its own," replied the other.

Unknown to the two Weequay, they were being watched from above. Nahdar and the girl silently observed from within a vent they just managed to get in just before the pirates came back. Thanks to the fact that Nahdar also managed to cut off his transmission, the pirates never suspected anything wrong. Then, the Jedi motioned for the girl to follow him and they quietly crawled through the vent. Through the vent system they moved until Nahdar guessed it was safe to use the halls again. Besides, his companion kept rubbing her knees, indicating they were sore. Locating an exit, he carefully removed the cover and peeked around. Seeing no one, he hopped out and helped the girl down—just as another pirate came around the corner.

"Hey, what are you--" he asked before Nahdar sprang at him, pinning his back against the wall.

"You didn't see anything," the Calamarian said as he waved two fingers across the pirate's face.

"I didn't see anything," the Weequay repeated monotonedly.

As the Jedi commanded the pirate to continue going about his business, the girl stood behind him, amazed. With that, Nahdar let the pirate go, who left as if he didn't see them, and took her hand. 'With a little luck, we won't run into anymore pirates before we get to the aircraft hangar,' he thought to himself. And, luck did appear to be on their side. The two didn't encounter anymore pirates and they finally made it to the hangar. Taking cover behind some crates, Nahdar scanned the place. Aside from some maintenance droids, the hangar appeared to be empty and he spotted just the craft they would need. Of course, not willing to take any chances, he signaled for the girl to stay put while he scouted ahead towards the shuttle. Crouching low and forcing himself to take his time, he made his way towards the shuttle.

He was just about there when he felt the barrel of a blaster on his back and a familiar voice, "Goin' somewhere, fish face?" It was Burko. "Hand over your lightsaber, hands where I can see 'em, and on your feet, slowly." Reluctantly, the young Jedi knight complied, relinquishing his tool, which he heard clunk on the ground, and raising his hands in surrender. "Now, you're going to show me where the girl is," Burko commanded.

"What makes you think I know where she is?"

"Come now, Sir Jedi, I know you. You'd never leave her behind."

"Maybe she and I went our separate ways."

Burko jabbed the barrel into Nahdar's spine, making him flinch a little. "Don't take me for a fool, Jedi. She doesn't have the smarts to find her way around here, and even if she did, you two would be heading here because you both need a way to get out. Now, I'm going to give you till the count of three to show me her location." Burko started counting, but just as he reached two, the pressure on Nahdar's back disappeared and he heard a thud like something heavy falling to the ground. Turning around, he not only found that 'something' to be Burko, but that the Twi'lik girl was holding a large tool of some kind, which she apparently used to knock out the pirate from behind. A shy, but triumphant smile slowly emerged on her face.

"Nice one," Nahdar quietly praised with an impressed smile. The girl set the tool down and Nahdar had just grabbed his lightsaber when red lights flashed and a loud siren sounded. The jig was up; someone discovered they were missing from their cell. "Hurry!" the Calamarian shouted above the wail of the alarm as he motioned for her to go ahead of him. The girl reached the top of the ramp and Nahdar the bottom when a laser shot past him, apparently meant to get his attention. The two escapees obliged and they found that they were surrounded by the entire band of pirates who had blasters aimed right at them.

Shona stepped up. "Have to admit, Sir Jedi, I'm impressed you managed to keep yourselves undetected as well you have. Now, if you would be so kind, toss your lightsaber this way and have the girl come away from there with you." Nahdar gazed around the bunch, analyzing the situation, and he didn't like the odds. Jedi or not, there was no way he could handle all of the pirates by himself, and there was no sign of the reinforcements he asked for. He looked over his shoulder to the girl, who was now trembling with fear and pleaded to him with her eyes. "Come now, Jedi," said Shona. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice."

Nahdar made his decision. "In that case, if the choice be mine. . ." The Calamarian gripped his lightsaber and, with a hum and flash of blue light, activated it as he took a fighting stance. "I choose _not_ to surrender."

For a brief moment, Shona was shocked; did this Jedi have a death wish? Then, with a shake of his head, he said, "Suit yourself," and he and his men readied their blasters while Nahdar readied himself for anything. Suddenly, an explosion rocked the hangar, sending all of the pirates sprawling. Nahdar barely managed to keep on his feet; he sure didn't expect that. Hearing the roar of two aircraft, he looked around the shuttle and smiled as he saw a most welcome sight. It was a couple of trooper transports; help had finally arrived. The craft had landed and the clones deported and surrounded the pirates before they could fully regain their bearings. Wisely, they surrendered. Nahdar watched with a relieved smile as he watched the clones handcuff the pirates and haul them away.

"Nahdar," a voice said his name. He turned to find, to his surprise, that Master Windu was among the small battalion and respectfully bowed. "It's good to see that you are well, Nahdar, and sorry we couldn't have arrived sooner," the Master Jedi greeted. "We had a bit of a run with Dooku on the way in."

"It was nothing I wasn't prepared for, Master," the Calamarian replied. "But, your timely assistance is greatly welcome."

Once the clones had rounded up all of the pirates and confiscated their armory, it was time to take their leave. Realizing that Nahdar wasn't following, Windu turned and asked, "Coming?"

The young Jedi shook his head, "I can't just yet, Master. You see, I got caught up in a little something here and I must see it through."

At first, Windu was confused. Then, he noticed the Twi'lek girl waiting in the doorway of the shuttle and he smiled warmly. "Very well. Take the other transport and return to Coruscant as soon as you can." The two Jedi embraced each other's forearms and, while Windu departed, Nahdar beckoned for the girl to come with him. The girl, no longer with hesitation, allowed herself to be led to the other transport. Once inside, she was naturally fascinated with the machinery.

"Set a course for Ryloth," Nahdar ordered. "We need to make a quick drop-off."

"Yes, sir," the pilot nodded, and the two space/aircraft took to the sky and into the stars in opposite directions.

* * *

Early evening was approaching on Ryloth, the Twi'lek homeworld. In one of the many small houses in one of the planet's many small towns, a family was getting ready for their evening meal. As the mother finished preparing the food, she just happened to gaze upon a large pad with a cover that served as the bed that her two daughters shared—that was until the eldest was kidnapped by pirates. The thought of her lost daughter brought tears to her eyes and she sobbed. Her husband, hearing her, attempted to comfort her, as did the younger daughter. Suddenly, they heard a rumble that sounded like it was coming from the sky. They looked outside, wondering if they were in for a storm. Instead, some kind of ship was hovering just outside of the borders of the neighborhood.

As it prepared to land, a door slid open revealing the occupants: a Mon Calamarian, several clone troopers—and a familiar young female Twi'lek waving and whose shouts were lost in the roar of the craft's turbines. She didn't even wait for the transport to touch down; as soon as they were low enough, she jumped off and ran so fast she nearly tripped over her own feet. Her mother, on the other end, couldn't believe her eyes. Her daughter, whom she never dared to believe she would ever see again, had returned. Unable to contain herself, and with joyous tears now streaming down her face, she ran to her, followed by her family. Mother, father, and little sister all held their lost member in a group hug so tight they felt like they would never let go.

Meanwhile, Nahdar and the clones watched from a distance, the Jedi smiling at the sight. "There's a scene that makes the whole war worthwhile," said a trooper.

"Mm-phm," Nahdar nodded in agreement.

It was then that the girl turned and pointed at the Calamarian, indicating to her family that he was the one who brought her back. They approached him and shook his hand, giving him their eternal gratitude.

"_We can never thank you enough, Sir Jedi_," said the father.

"_We just wish there was some way we could repay you for bringing our daughter back to us_," the mother added.

"_You don't owe me anything_," Nahdar replied modestly. "_I'm just glad I could return a child to her family_."

"_Could you please tell us your name_?"

"_I am Nahdar Vebb. Which reminds me, I never learned yours_," he said, facing the older girl holding her little sister in her arms.

She glanced at her parents, who nodded, then back at Nahdar and said, "Anra." Nahdar bowed, wishing the family well, boarded the transport**,** and gave the word to take off. As the craft climbed higher and higher into the atmosphere, Anra and her family watched it depart with thankful hearts. They were whole again, thanks to a brave and selfless Jedi knight.


End file.
